Accused West Boylston bank robber tied to Worcester crimes

WEST BOYLSTON — A man accused in a West Boylston bank robbery last Thursday has also been named as the suspect in a string of Worcester bank robberies over the past four months.

Prince G. Dennis, 36, of 39 Westminster St., Worcester, has been charged by West Boylston police with armed robbery after allegedly entering Commerce Bank, 320 West Boylston St., just after 11 a.m., showing a threatening note to a cashier and stealing an undisclosed amount of cash.

"No weapon was shown, but he passed a note that indicated there would be violence," Detective Marcello Tavano said.

Tavano said the call for the West Boylston robbery came in at 11:13. Officers David Richardson, James Bartlett and Sergeant Anthony Papandrea responded, followed by Tavano. Shrewsbury's canine unit was also requested, but Worcester later notified local police of the arrest.

"We were working the scene and Worcester called and said they had him," Tavano said.

Prince was apprehended less than an hour later when he allegedly attempted a similar robbery at the People's United Bank at 75 Gold Star Blvd. in Worcester.

And that bank, Tavano noted, was being staked out by undercover officers from Worcester police, State Police and the FBI. Prince now stands accused of eight robberies since March.

"He broke pattern," Tavano said. "He had been doing one bank at a time for months. That day, he got greedy, for whatever reason, he tried two. He just happened to hit a bank they were at.

"Before I even got to the scene I was on the phone with Worcester Police," Tavano said. "When those guys gave me a description, I thought it sounded an awful lot like the Worcester suspect. A few minutes later, he walks into the bank they were at."

Tavano and Papandrea transported a witness from the West Boylston robbery to Worcester for identification, after which charges were pressed by West Boylston.

Prince did not wear a mask, but he did wear different hats and a different set of clothing for each robbery, Tavano said.

"He changed clothes that day (Thursday)," he said. "Between our robbery and the Worcester robbery, he had already changed his clothing."

No one was injured in the West Boylston robbery, though the note was threatening to the teller, Tavano said.

Dennis was arraigned in Central District Court in Worcester on Friday on four counts of armed robbery and three counts of unarmed robbery, based on the Worcester robberies. Judge David Ricciardone ordered he be held in lieu of a total of $21,000 cash bail and said that if Mr. Dennis is released, he must be confined to his home, wear a GPS monitor, undergo drug and alcohol testing and refrain from using those substances, and surrender his passport and any firearms or related licenses.

Some of the bank tellers who were allegedly robbed by Mr. Dennis said they believed he was armed. One believed she saw the barrel of a gun, while another said the note passed during the robbery indicated Dennis was armed.

Dennis also allegedly told one teller, at TD Bank on West Boylston Street, that there was a bomb outside, court documents said.

Court documents state that Mr. Dennis often used profanity in the notes he passed and the language he used with tellers, though one teller noted he was "pleasant and friendly." In many cases he demanded $3,000 and told tellers not to (expletive) with him.